Combined belt-shifter and brake



(No Model.) 1 1 W. A. OTTO & B. A. METOALF.

COMBINED BELT SHIFTEE AND BRAKE.

No. 317,411. 5 Patented May'5, 1885.

- U ITED STATES WILLIAM A. orro AND BENJAMIN A.

PATENT OFFICE.

METOALF, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA.

COMBINED BELT-SHlFTER AND BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,411, dated May 5,1885.

Application filed March 9, 1885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM A. jOT'lO and BENJAMIN A.METGALF,CltlZenSof the United States,residing atOedar Rapids,in the county of Linn andState of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBelt- Shifters and Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

Ourinvention relates to apparatus for starting and stopping rotarymotion, particularly in light rapidly-running machinery; and our objectis to produce an effective device for that purpose, less expensive, andsimpler in construction and operation than those in general, 1181'.

The invention consists in a belt-shifter adapted to act as a brake tostop or retard motion,operating in connection with round or analogousbelts running on fast and loose pulleysf'of peculiar shape, as will behereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents an elevation of theinvention as applied to a sewing-machine, and Fig. 2 a plan i view ofthe brake and pulleys.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In the ordinary apparatus for this purpose motion is communicated fromthe line-shaft to I a counter-shaft, or equivalent device, and thence bymeans of asystern of levers, sleeves, and clutches, friction orotherwise, the motion is transmitted to the machine. Such brakes arenecessarily quite complicated and expensive, are liable to get out oforder, and occupy 1 an unnecessary amount of room. To avoid these commonobject-ions we apply the principles'of the fast and loose pulleysdirectly to the machine, shifting the belt running from the line-shaft,and checking or stopping the motion through the medium of the followingsimple elements: i

A is a loose pulley, and B a fast pulley, on the operative shaft of themachine. provided with a slight groove in the periphery to receive theround belt 0, but not so deep as to hinder the shifting of the belt fromone to the other. The outer flange may be as high as the belt, to thebetter retain the belt in theproper position. The fast pulley is alsoprovided with a larger portion, B, corresponding with an ordinarybalance-wheel,which runs l the knee.

They are T l between two arms of the belt-shifter D, pivoted inthe'bearing-block E, and'operated by the l lever Gr, attached to it byconnecting-rod F and the spring b, as shown in Fig. 1. The outer arm ofthe beltshifter D is provided with a wearing-block, a, of wood, leather,or other suitable material, and the inner branch may be so constructed,if desired; but as it is less exposed to wear than the other it mayoperate without. ln practice we regard it as desirable to give the outerarm an angle, as represented, so that the pressure is about on a linedrawn from the point of contact to the shaft at the opposite side of theloose pulley.

[t is evident that the brake may be made to operate altogether on theface, or nearly, if not quite, on the periphery, by varying the shape ofthis branch of the shifter.

The operation of the invention will be readily seen. The belt 0, passingbetween the pins 0 c in the upper end of the shifter-arm, is,when leftfree, thrown onto the loose pulley A by the tension of the spring b, andat the same time the brake D is pressed against the rim of the wheelB,quickly stopping it if in motion.

The operator starts the machine by throwing the lever G over, and withit the beltshifter, to the position indicated by the dotted lines inFig. 1. To check or retard the motion it is only necessary to continuethis movement a little farther, when the inner brake, D, is 1 brought incontact with the wheel B, causing the belt to slip and diminishing thespeed as much as may be desired. In the case of sew ingmachines andother light machines at which l the operator sits, the lever may bemoved by We prefer this to a pedal or footlever, as it is simpler, anddoes not obstruct the floor.

Thus constructed, the invention is inexpenl sive in manufacture, easy ofapplication, neat in appearance, and in practice has been found l to beperfectly.eliectivein operation. Besides these advantages, it is lessliable to soil the 5 work than many other brakes, as little or noapplication of oil is required.

Having thus briefly described ourinvention, what we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a combined belt-shifter and brake, the

the belt, and a brake-arm, D, adapted to bear shifter-arm D, having pins0 a, to straddle against the wheel B simultaneously as the belt isshifted to the loose pulley A, substan tially as shown and described.

2. In acombined belt-shifter and brake, the

shifter arm D, having pins 0 c, to straddlithe sides to allow the beltto be freely shifted from one to the other, substantially as set forth.

5. In a combined beltshifter and brake, the

combination of loose pulley A, fast pulley B,

belt 0, and with its head so adjusted with respeot to the fast pulley Bthat it may be pressed against the wheel B with the samemovementrequired in shifting the belt, for the purpose of retarding themotion, substantially as set forth.

3. In a combined belt'shifter and brake, the shifter-arm D, havingbrake-arm D, in com bination with fast pulleyB, having rim or flange B,loose pulley A, and belt 0, all substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

4:. In a combined belt-shifter and brake, the combination of shifter I),having brakehead D, the brake-wheel B, round or analogous belt 0, andfast and loose pulleys B A, having a groove in their peripheriessufficient to re tain the belt, but shallow enough on the inner havingbrake-Wheel B, belt 0, shifter D 0 c, brake-head D a, pivot-block E,eoni'lectingrod F, and lever G, all constructed, arranged, and operatingsubstantially as set forth.

6. In a combined belt shifter and brake, the combination of loose pulleyA, fast pulley B, having brake-Wheel B, belt 0, shifter-arm D, brake-armD, pivot-block E, and spring 12, adapted to automatioally'throw thebeltonto the loose pulley and stop the motion of the machine,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM A. OTTO.

BENJAMIN A. METOALF.

Witnesses: v

FRANK G. CLARK, L. T. W1Loox.,

